Back in 2007, I wrote a post on TopSEOS.com in which I described my past experience in advertising with them and how I felt about the lack of transparency in their rankings of the “top seo firms”.
I have waited, and waited, and waited for some firms that I respect – who participate in this – to push the folks at TopSEOs.com to be more up-front about how the lists are developed and paid for. And, if they can’t get the people at TopSEOs.com to be more upfront about the fact that this is a “pay to play” marketing list and not a true “list of the top SEO firms”, I suggest that these companies do our Industry a favor and walk away. Yes, I’m suggesting that they turn away from this (very good) lead source until TopSEOs.com is more transparent. Only when many of the paid advertisers drop out will the folks at TopSEOs.com change their ways.
Perhaps things have changed (though I doubt sincerely that they have) and TopSEOs.com is at least making an effort to reach out to customers of these SEO providers to verify that they in fact to deliver SEO services, and provide testimony to the fact that the companies listed actually do good work. I can tell you that when I worked (advertised) with TopSEOs.com, they did not so much as call one of our clients to verify that we even did SEO.
For so many unsuspecting companies who are seeking a solid SEO vendor, this list may be the only source they check to find a search engine optimization provider. That’s a shame.
Why am I bringing this up, now?
Well, yet again, today I saw a press release from a company touting the fact that they received a prestigious honor in being ranked as a “top SEO company”. Ugh.
Here’s the press release. I usually try not to mention any companies by name (it’s in poor taste) but I think it’s time that we put it all out there and let you decide.
Again, there are probably some good firms that are listed on TopSEOs.com. But, it’s my hope that all companies paying for this “honor” ask the folks at TopSEOs to be a lot more transparent about the process (and honest about the process).
For those of you who are trying to find a good firm, I would suggest that you begin by educating yourself on SEO. Know what you’re buying before you cut any checks. From there, I would suggest that you call a lot of references for the companies that you are considering. Success in SEO should be defined by the increase in quality traffic (for a wide variety of keywords) and not “top rankings”, especially if that’s followed by “guaranteed”.
There are many good resources to learn more about SEO (aside from the Vizion Blog). Some recommendations include http://searchenginewatch.com, http://www.clickz.com, http://www.seomoz.org, http://www.seobook.com and http://searchengineland.com.
I totally agree Mark. Every month I get all excited about being named a top SEO and PPC firm. Then I remember the source, and remember that there's absolutely no criteria for the ranking.
It's a shame. It could be a valuable service.
Spot-on Mark! As another Canadian SEO firm, we watch quite carefully via news/PR alerts about just about anything on SEO and Canada. We too found that PR the day it was sent and 'pshawed' as loudly as Walter Brennan did…
The body granting such a ranking is bogus to begin with and a detailed research into that SEO firm shows….well, you do it and then you'll see what I mean…ie a match-made-in-heaven, eh?
I continue to follow this whole schmozzle…and will await the inevitable shakeout of same….
😉
Jim
Top SEO is a total scam and frankly I think a class action suit needs to be launched. If they promoted their rankings list as "Rankings of companies that paid us to evaluate them" I would not have a problem; but to fool consumers and businesses into thinking this is anything more than paid placement if fraud. It really hurts companies not willing to pay their fee.
I agree, but I know for a fact money is more important to the owners of these SEO companies than the ethics of standing up for what's right. They won't stop using topSEO's and they will continue to pay $15,000 a month for a number one SEO firm rank. But I'm with you though
I don't trust TopSEOs and have gone back on my decision to consider a top Indian firm, or so they were ranked (TopSEOs run topseos.in as well).
We are a well funded, well established business and are really hunting for great talent and in my role to lead the effort I have to admit I have found it extremely hard in finding the right partner in vendor firms. So I have determined to take it upon myself to reorganize & make most if not all efforts internal – which I successfully have chalked out, hope the execution turns out just fine. But the take away for you is how hard it is to find the right firm in all the clutter. And talk about pricing, the professional service it must be is all 'productised' and there is no customization or aptitude to match wavelength. In the Indian landscape, I spoke to some good firms based out of the US and all I got was canned proposals for $10k a month – I expect some element of thought and customization for $120k a year! I'm a sales guy and I was taught SPIN methodology 14 years ago and it still applies!! If I'm buying I'd like the SEO firm to ask what my current situation is at least!
In the meantime, I'm posting to tell you this above note or post actually might have been counter productive. Just contacted the guys at the First Page SEO firm for a proposal on Link Building. Primarily because, their own websites might rank a tad higher on some of my ranking thumb rules vs you as a firm.
On another note, I as a digital marketing firm would not name or link to a competing firm if my integrity levels and professional standards were very high. I'm hoping this comment is moderated and treated as feedback. I have no intention of publishing it.
I'm the Sales Head and Brand Consultant for the firm this project is for. You can feel free to contact me for authenticating or for input on a blog post on the difficulty in finding a good partner while using website such as TopSeos – happy to oblige. That might make the time wasted in some meetings worthwhile.